Nuggets 96, Spurs 86: Falling down in Denver

The Spurs started with a vengeance, racing out to a 14-0 lead as Tony Parker sat for the third time in four games with a general lack of health. It would not last. Attacking at every opportunity, the Nuggets outscored them by 33 points over the next 35 minutes, including 23-5 in one stretch to blow the game open. A modest run beautified the score, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Spurs from dropping out of the top spot in the West thanks to Oklahoma City’s tiebreaker edge.

Player of the game

So many options. Wilson Chandler led all scorers with 29 points. Corey Brewer wasn’t far behind with 28. It was Andre Iguodala, however, who held the Nuggets together, leading all players with 13 rebounds and 10 assists en route to the triple-double. He missed his first five shots and did not score until the second half, finishing with 12. But it was his peripheral production that mattered most to Denver, particularly playmaking with point guard Ty Lawson nursing a sore heel.

The turning point

The Spurs were still hanging around midway through the third quarter, trailing 59-58 after DeJuan Blair’s turnaround jumper. That’s when the Nuggets finally had enough, scoring 23 of the next 28 to storm ahead by 19. Twelve of those 23 came in the paint, including three dunks. Two of those slams came on Spurs turnovers, and another two layups came in transition after long misses. Denver outscored the Spurs by 10 in the paint and by six in fastbreak points.